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What comes to mind when you hear the word “kiwi"? Most likely many kids will immediately think of the small green fruit with the tiny black seeds. But did you realize that some people might think of a flightless bird or even a person? It's true!

Kiwi can refer to several different things. For example, it's a fruit that's sometimes called kiwifruit or even Chinese gooseberry. These small, egg-shaped fruit have brown skin and bright green flesh with small, black seeds.

Kiwifruit are soft with a sweet, unique taste. They can be eaten alone or mixed with other ingredients as part of many different types of tropical recipes.

Many people eat kiwifruit for their variety of health benefits. Kiwifruit are good sources of vitamin C, potassium, vitamin E, vitamin A and fiber. Their skin contains antioxidants, and their seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids.

If you're WONDERing how to keep these kiwis straight, most New Zealanders capitalizeKiwi when referring to people but not when referring to kiwi birds. Likewise, more than one New Zealander would be called Kiwis, while more than one flightless bird would be called kiwi.

Kiwi birds tend to be shy and nocturnal. In the wild, they hunt at night to avoid predators. In areas where there are no predators, such as protected reserves, kiwi can be seen during the day, too.

Kiwi birds are the only birds with nostrils at the ends of their unusually-long beaks. It's no surprise that they have a very keen sense of smell. They tend to eat insects, seeds, worms, fruit and small amphibians. With their long beaks and good sense of smell, they can find food underground that other creatures miss.

Female kiwi only lay one egg each season, but it's a big one! Kiwi eggs can weigh up to one quarter the weight of the female, making them the biggest egg relative to its size of any bird in the world!

Sonaliii

Wonderopolis

Sep 16, 2016

Thanks for sharing your opinion, Sonaliii. Scientists (and the vast majority of other people) use abbreviations for lots of reasons. We abbreviate to save space, time, and effort -- but that doesn't mean it's lazy. You could say it's more efficient. Could you imagine how thick and heavy a chemistry textbook would be if we didn't abbreviate elements and molecules? :)

Sylviii and Sonaliii

Wonderopolis

Wow, Sylviii and Sonaliii! That sounds like a pretty big book! We hope you have fun reading it! :D

Sylviii

Sep 16, 2016

My book is the same as Sonaliii's. #sameschool

Sonaliii

Sep 16, 2016

my book is bigger than 3 harry potter books

Wonderopolis

Nov 26, 2013

Hi Nate and Eddie! You guys are WONDERful and funny! We're not sure if scientists got lazy or maybe the same name for different things just caught on in different countries! When you ask for a kiwi in Australia, they might point you towards a person, while an American would throw you the fruit! Thanks for WONDERing with us, friends! :)

Wonderopolis

JabJab

Oct 28, 2012

Hey Wonderopolis. My Class goes on here everyday!!! We love your site.. can you make one about static electricity?????? I know you get a lot of comments but I really hope you see this!
~JabJab & Mrs. Mae's class

Wonderopolis

Oct 28, 2012

Hello, Wonder Friends in Mrs. Mae's class and JabJab! We are so excited that you visit us everyday-- how cool! We LOVE your idea for a Wonder about static electricity-- we bet you'll enjoy this Wonder from the past!
Wonder #98-- What Is Static Electricity? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-static-electricity/
Thanks for sharing your comment! :)

faith

Wonderopolis

Oct 21, 2012

Thanks so much for sharing your AWESOME comment, Faith! We are having a great time learning with our Wonder Friends today! Thank you for sharing the Wonder with your friends-- we love meeting new people! Have a super day! :)

Wonderopolis

Luke

Oct 21, 2012

And although a kiwi is a bird, it is the closest thing that New Zealand had to a land based mammal in attributes and behavior. Only native mammal to NZ is a Bat!
...and yes I am a Kiwi and ate a kiwi (AKA Chinese gooseberry or Zespri) for breakfast. ;)

Wonderopolis

Oct 21, 2012

Hi there, Luke, we are SO glad that you have learned so much about the kiwi today! We think you are doing a great job of WONDERing, and we're glad that you've shared some more information with us, too! Thanks for being a great Wonder Friend! :)

Nation in the southern Pacific Ocean containing two principal islands — North Island and South Island — and several small outlying islands

a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)

highly developed

formality and propriety of manner

an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change

relating to or characteristic of a nation; common to a whole nation

a cold-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that comprises the frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians

an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance

a light soft silver-white metallic element of the alkali metal group; oxidizes rapidly in air and reacts violently with water; is abundant in nature in combined forms occurring in sea water and in carnallite and kainite and sylvite